Navigating the future of the aviation sector requires architects and designers to walk a complex path, often contending with opposing drivers to create outcomes that go on to define a city’s first impression.
In this series, Woods Bagot’s aviation experts delve into the history, motivation and challenges of select aviation debates – sharing how these tensions will shape airport design into the future.
Here, Regional Transport Leader Stan Dorin discusses balancing design aspirations and operational realities in the modern airport.
Stan Dorin.
When designing tomorrow’s airports, there’s an inherent tension between design aspirations and operational realities. Rather than viewing this as a challenge, this friction is an opportunity: good airport design is ultimately a great balancing act.
A great airport designer anticipates what will be technologically probable tomorrow while harnessing the best of what’s possible today. They understand that construction impacts operations and that the best airport designs aren’t just about the final product. Most importantly, they recognize that the unseen parts of an airport must operate with the same efficiency as those on display.
“One of the greatest challenges is designing for both the seen and unseen elements of terminal operations.”
One of the greatest challenges is designing for both the seen and unseen elements of terminal operations. The need to create a unique passenger experience through features like central retail spaces, indoor gardens, airline lounges, food and beverage offerings and entertainment options can create operational challenges – often inadvertently increasing walking distances and creating passenger bottle necks during peak hours. Ultimately, the success of the passenger experience depends on thoughtful integration that doesn’t compromise operational efficiency.
Understanding how people move through an airport is paramount to a successful design. The challenge isn’t just about having enough checkpoints or gates – it’s about having adequate space for queuing areas and understanding how people move through each part of the terminal. Infrastructure and capacity planning must account for real-world operational demands, meaning an adequate number and size of gates, check-in counters, security checkpoints, and baggage claim carrousels must be operational at each phase of development.
As an addition to one of North America’s top ten busiest airports, the C Concourse Expansion at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) nearly triples the size of the concourse, creating a new destination through placemaking, sustainability, and signature architecture.
As well as knowing how people move through an airport, we must account for how people travel to and from them. Good connectivity to road networks and public transportation options enhances accessibility for passengers, so it follows to approach an airport as the main component of a future transportation hub by accounting for public transport, rideshare and private vehicles. Multi-modal transportation hubs depend heavily on the careful management of transition points between different transport modes, which must be considered early and understood as integral to the final design.
Technology integration also requires a delicate balance. While features like automated check-in and baggage handling systems, self-service kiosks, biometric authentication, real-time flight information displays, and fast, reliable Wi-Fi connectivity can enhance efficiency, overly complex technological solutions can become operational burdens. The key is finding the right balance between innovation and reliability, ensuring systems are both future-proof and practical.
Construction underway at LAX’s Midfield Satellite Concourse (MSC) South. The project is being built using a first-of-its-kind technique called Offsite Construction and Relocation (OCR), which allows for segments of the project to be constructed at a different location before being transported to the final site for installation.
“The true measure of an airport’s design isn’t how it performs under ideal conditions, but how it handles disruptions, peak loads, and unexpected situations.”
Today’s airport terminals are embracing a “common use” operational model, moving away from airlines exclusively allocated spaces. This approach allows terminal operators to adapt to changing demands, maintain higher standards, and enable airlines to focus on their core operations. The model’s success hinges on thoughtful balance between common, preferential, and exclusive use areas, prioritizing operational efficiency.
For designers, implementing common use facilities demands consideration of both visible and hidden infrastructure, from passenger-facing technologies to baggage handling systems. Success requires anticipating future advances while managing current needs and security requirements. Private operators must weigh design costs against operational expenses, considering how construction can proceed with minimal disruption. This approach ensures terminals remain adaptable and efficient.
The true measure of an airport’s design isn’t how it performs under ideal conditions, but how it handles disruptions, peak loads, and unexpected situations . Success lies in creating spaces that are beautiful yet functional, flexible yet secure, ambitious yet practical – designing not just for today’s needs, but for tomorrow’s challenges.
Stan Dorin, Regional Aviation Leader (North America).
Stan Dorin has more than 26 years of experience as an architect and manager on a wide variety of international development projects including airport planning, design, and construction services. As a part of the ADP Group for 18 years, Stan had a key role in the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport expansion program. He has also served as resident architect in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East on multiple aviation projects, including the expansion of the Dubai International Airport and Jeddah New Terminal 1.
Stan has led design teams in a wide range of PPP airport projects, including Bogota El Dorado Airport or La Guardia’s Central Terminal Building Redevelopment. Stan’s recent experience includes the future Singapore Changi Terminal 5, set to serve 50 million passengers per year, and the Abu Dhabi International Airport Midfield Complex, a 7.5 million square-foot terminal. Stan enjoys excellent personal relationships with the world’s leading aviation consultancies and has been instrumental in forming large, multidisciplinary teams to design and deliver complex and high-profile aviation projects.
Contact Tess Dolan, Insights & Communications Leader – Global for media enquiries
Tess is Woods Bagot’s Global Insights Leader. Passionate about clarity, relevance and the creation of genuinely interesting content, Tess works with our innovators to create insights on the future of design, as applied to its impact on how we live, work, travel, play, learn, stay healthy and anything in-between. See Woods Bagot’s Journal for more.
Los Angeles, California